I Would Discuss Joementum, But That Would Be Joevenile
Great Pyrrhus, Have We Learned Nothing From Ye?
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Democrats | Featured Stories — Comments (7) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
So the left-of-center netroots have won a victory . . . over a Democrat today. Well, a win is a win, in the eyes of many, and as such, the netroots will party like it's 1972. But somewhere in the distance, King Pyrrhus is shaking his head in sad resignation. He has seen this movie before, after all.
Apart from Joe Lieberman, the biggest loser tonight was Hillary Clinton. She has sought to capture the political center throughout her time as a Senator. She has worked to keep the idea of the New Democrat alive in the head of Joe and Jane Voter--however much she may have strayed from that idea and ideal. With her membership on the Senate Armed Services Committee and her refusal to ditch the reconstruction effort in Iraq, Hillary Clinton might have helped Democrats pave the way towards looking like a credible alternative on national security issues; tough-minded while at the same time dissenting from the views and tactics of the Bush Administration. Instead, Clinton, Lieberman and others of like mind have had the rug pulled out from underneath them tonight. They cannot be happy campers.
Apart from Ned Lamont, the big winner tonight was John McCain. Although he is more of a conservative than people give him credit for, his maverick personality and high-profile forays towards the land of political moderation will allow him to crowd the center in his Presidential run should he win the Republican nomination. At the same time, if Lieberman Democrats find themselves drummed out of their own party, they will gravitate towards McCain. Meanwhile, if conservatives and right-of-center libertarians who believe in American engagement in international affairs see the Democratic Party drift towards the Left, they won't care about their past serious disagreements with McCain over various issues and will latch on to his candidacy as the only way to keep the Republic safe from what they perceive as the deleterious foreign policy platform of the Lamont crowd.
Basically, this whole dynamic resembles nothing more than the ostracism suffered by the Scoop Jackson Democrats in the 1970's. That ostracism brought about the Reagan Democrats and the leader who lent his name to their demographic. A victory by Senator Lieberman as an Independent in the general election will do little to stop this dynamic from playing itself out. At the end of the day, movement Democrats have told the Lieberman Democrats that the latter are no longer welcome at the table. The Lieberman Democrats cannot be expected to take this lying down, and they won't. The result of this clash will likely look hauntingly similar to the clash over the Scoop Jackson Democrats in the 1970's. In politics, there is rarely anything new under the sun, after all.
But tonight is the night of the Lamontians and their netroot supporters. They have won their victory. They have paid homage to the memory of Pyrrhus and left a pleasing sacrifice upon his altar. In the coming months, they will reap the results of their victory. And I measure my words quite carefully when I say that they are entitled to those results.
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I Would Discuss Joementum, But That Would Be Joevenile 7 Comments (0 topical, 7 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Romney/Coburn 2008 = Unbeatable
three incumbents lost- is that a sign that the voters did not like these particular candidates, or that the voters are upset at all incumbents. If they are mad at all and do not like the way they have governed, it might be a bad sign for us republicans this Nov.
by Snowe, Chaffee, Collins, Hagel and Voinovich?
the "tough but smart" theme the Dems were pushing a few months ago.
From a technical perspective, one must admire the superb engineering of the dagger that Al Gore stuck in Joe's back.
If anything, all this proves is that the 'center' is full of people who can't be bothered to vote in sufficient numbers. Which is the way it's always been: If you're sufficiently engaged, you're pretty much bound to take actual positions on issues, rather than just float around as a 'moderate' who hates 'ideologues on both sides.'
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If you're seeing shades of gray, it's because you're not looking close enough to see the black and white dots.
....there are millions of lifelong Dems - like me - whose votes will never be safe for the Dems again.
I've never voted for a Republican presidential candidate, going back to Nixon's days, but I'd vote for McCain over any Dem who'll make it through the gauntlet of the Far Left of the Dem party in '08.
A lot still depends on November, but if the GOP is smart enough to nominate Giuliani, McCain, or even Romney - all of whom have had dust-ups with (or are at least somewhat distrusted by) "the base", they could easily win the 2008 presidential election.