Ned Lamont. The guy has it all -- a great job, a great family, a great home, and very cute, if lazy, dog. Yet he tossed that aside for a quixotic run, dumping in millions of his own money in what was really, at first, a statement race. When I first met Lamont I told him that if he played this right, win or lose, he would have an army behind him that would be a force for good in Connecticut and beyond.
You know why I liked Lamont, what sold me on him? He had hints of insecurity. In politics, you realize that every politician just about oozes ego. You can smell it across the room. But here was a guy who didn't think the world revolved around him as he plotted the most efficient path to the White House. He was doing this not out of ego but because he believed in the causes he was fighting for. To me, that was refreshing. (Same goes for Tester, btw).
Loser:
Winners:
People-powered politics. At YearlyKos, caught up in the moment, I foolishly made the following prediction in my keynote address.
Lieberman is going to lose.
Why was I so confident?
Just today we get news of a new poll out of Connecticut. A month ago, a Quinnipiac University had the Senate Democratic race at 65 percent Joe Lieberman, 19 percent Ned Lamont.See that? Insanity. I saw Lamont losing by 15 points, and somehow that foreshadowed Lieberman's loss. But I was excited because we had just seen Jon Tester crush his opponent in Montana despite being tied in the polls. People-power propelled him to victory and I expected the same would happen in Connecticut. Tonight we saw that people-power is not just a Montana phenomenon but a national one, and it can move mountains.
Today's poll? Lieberman's lead has shrunk to 55-40 amongst likely Democratic primary voters.
Losers:
The DLC (and the New Republic, as well). Not only did they lose the first fully contested primary between a DLC candidate and a people-powered candidate in the Montana Senate primary, but they saw their patron saint go down in defeat last night. And this wasn't just any defeat, this was the triumph of a rag-tag band of rebels against everything the DC Democratic establishment could throw at us -- President Clinton, Barbara Boxer, NARAL, and so on. That's 0-2 in these contests for the DLC this cycle.
Seeing Al From's oldest nemesis, Jesse Jackson, behind Lamont tonight must've driven him insane. That brings a smile to my face.
Losers:
Lobbyists. They've paid good money to buy Joe Lieberman. How do you buy a guy that doesn't need money? That isn't willing to be corrupted by their strings-attached cash?
Winners
Democracy and the people of Connecticut. I haven't seen the final turnout numbers, but if they are around 50 percent, that's incredible. Maybe three percent turned out for the Virginia Democratic Senate primaries.
Losers
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