Poor Deluded LiberalsNow they
are convincing themselves that Bilbray won by running as a progressive.
Brian Bilbray ran to the left of Francine Busby. I know it sounds weird, but he did. That he won on a progressive platform is biggest story of the night. Busby's loss was a loss no matter how it's spun, but it's also a clear sign that the Democrats must become a progressive party. Busby ran the ultimate DC campaign, downplaying ideology and party, and making the campaign about competence, corruption, and issues. I don't expect this to wake up DC insiders, but you never know.Stoller's something of a nut; lord knows he must have some incriminating photos of Jerome Armstrong, or I can't imagine he'd be posting over there on the front page. He's got all the charm, wit and sophistication of a 17-year-old who's drunk for the first time.
Bilbray knew that progressive messaging was the key to holding the seat. Busby bought the DC insider line that elections are about 'issues' unconnected to any larger narrative. Americans are mad about high gas prices therefore they will vote for Democrats. She ran against principles, against values, and against the base. She ran against the blogs, not in the sense that she bashed the blogs but in the sense that her message and our message did not overlap (unlike Hackett). Her message was 'look at these bullet points'.I'm tempted to look at yesterday's posts and see if Stoller was quite so free with his criticism when he hoped Busby might win. But you know how it is; who cares if Matt Stoller is two-faced?
An awful lot of liberals are looking at populist victories in the Democratic primaries and high-fiving as if these populists had beaten Republicans instead of moderate Democrats. Taylor Marsh
sounds positively giddy:
Jon Tester’s big win shows Democrats the way through, which means it’s time for politicians to find his or her own inner Schweitzer.
The lessons for last night through my eyes were that if Republicans spend big money they can win, turn out is still likely to be low, but if the politician stands up, the outsider can get in. But that will only happen if the person shows some authenticity and has the spine to let the voters know they actually do have a choice and it’s not between a Joe Lieberman Democrat and some brand name Republican. Get it?Hmmm, I thought Marsh was a better writer; that's pretty lame. Jon Tester, for all of you including me who'd never heard his name until today, is the Democratic candidate to unseat Montana Senator Conrad Burns. Tester's platform seems to revolve around Jack Abramoff, but that's already getting to be very old news and it won't get any fresher in the next couple months.
I suspect Tester's about to become the next darling of the Netkooks. Can you say 0-22?
