Incumbents don't always win, even in their party primaries, although they have to work pretty hard to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Joe Lieberman seems to have done it, in large part because of the company he keeps.

And Cynthia McKinney appears to have worn out her welcome, too.

Comments

[Bruce Burch]

Watch how the Right spins this now, Ed. I bet there will be a huge outcry about how the left can't have 'diversity' in their party.

I think that the electorate spoke, and spoke volumes. We may well be looking back on this and realizing this is where the tide turned.

And again, maybe not. :)

[Alan Cone Bulluck]

Two things,

One: Those who voted for Lamont are fucking idiots. The rich shitstain-limo-libs convinced the ignorants that Cable-Wiz Lamont is better than The Good Old Fashioned Jew Lieberman.

Two: God help this country ... it's being taken over by a bunch of pansy morons.

Bastards

[Bruce Burch]

Wow Alan.

Tell us how you really feel.

:)

[Samuel Spagnola]

It seems to me this is evidence of the seeds of destruction and a blown opportunity for centrist Democrats. This country hasn't elected a true liberal Democrat since... If Lamont represents the future, he'll soon remind you of the past (McGovern, Mondale, Dukakis, and Kerry to a lesser extent). The war is a good issue for Democrats, but if you combine it with Left-wing radicalism, you will lose big. I predict a bigger divide in the Democrats between the Left and the Centrists, much as the Religious Right and Centrist Republicans have a divide. The question is which party will be able to unify better than the other?

If Joe has success as an Independent, I would plan on there being another 3rd party candidate for President as people in the middle of both parties are increasingly becoming frustrated with the extremes.

I'll have to write down "rich shitstain limo libs" in my quotations book. It won't do the Republicans any good to point out whether the Left can have diversity in their party except in forums like this and on the talking head shows. The party apparatus will think it is great that the Democrats are nominating Lefties. The fewer Centrists in the Donkey Party, the better the Republican chances are in elections.

[coturnix]

There is no such thing as a Centrist - it is a right-wing position, i.e., the "center" between the center and the far-right, not between the far-left and the far-right. And it is soooo self-righteous: "ah, I am so moderate, and all those others are extremists". Sometimes, one side is just wrong and the other right, and jockeying for the middle position just makes you look like a fool.

If Joe ran as a Republican he would have been defeated honorably. As an Independent, he will be defeated as a loser, the way he was defeated in 2000 and in 2004. Connecticut voters were sick of being represented by an epitomy of embarassment, so they found a guy with some balls for a change.

[Lex]

Well, gee, if Lamont winning is a disaster for the Democrats and shows there's no room for diversity in the party, what does the outcome of this primary say about Republicans?

It was a primary. The voters spoke. In both cases. That's how electoral democracy works.

And as Ed points out, the Lieberman-Lamont race should never have been close, but Lieberman ran a horrible campaign. Lamont ran an excellent one, but this race was still Lieberman's to lose. Had he acted the least bit statesmanlike instead of whining like a petulant child for the last several months, he'd be cruising to a fourth term this morning.

[Bubba]

"Had he acted the least bit statesmanlike instead of whining like a petulant child for the last several months, he'd be cruising to a fourth term this morning."

And there was no other significant factor affecting the primary results?

The Nutroots think otherwise.

[Connie Mack Jr]

The Nutroots think otherwise.* Bubba

So Bubba! How will you secretly support Vernon with his coming landslide victory in November?

[Samuel Spagnola]

"Sometimes, one side is just wrong and the other right, and jockeying for the middle position just makes you look like a fool." I agree, but in the case of the Left- that translates into lost elections. That's fine by me. I have also never claimed to be a moderate, I'm just not a card carrying member of the religious right.

[Connie Mack Jr]

I'm just not a card carrying member of the religious right.* Sam

Good for you Sam! Now we won't have you wear sackcloth and ashes at the next Focus on the Family idiot religious meeting.

[coturnix]

Jockeying for the middle position is exactly what makes Dems lose over and over again. Faced with a choice between a conservative and a pseudo-conservative, people go for the real McCoy. Having a choice between a conservative and a liberal, peeople will always choose a liberal, because the liberal ideology is American idelogy: honesty, equality of opportunity, keeping the government out of your bedroom, freedom. No matter what people call themselves - and many are self-deluded that they are conservative because they do not know what conservatism is - most Americans are liberal.

[Samuel Spagnola]

"Having a choice between a conservative and a liberal, people will always choose a liberal.." History proves you wrong on that one. Big Time. Can you cite one example of any consequence?