So, as the primary season heats up, all eyes are on what direction Democratic voters wish to take their party. In the middle of one of the most liberal districts in the country, the incumbent, viewed as a bold truth-sayer by some but as an out-of-touch embarrassment by many in the party, battles against a relatively unknown upstart who is capitalizing on his opponent's controversial stands to try and pull of the upset.
So, the news media and blogosphere descends down to determine the answer to one question: Will Hank Johnson defeat Cynthia McKinney in the Georgia 4th?
Oh, that wasn't the race you were thinking about? My apologies. You were obsessing over that other contest. The one in New England, where a moderate incumbent, well-known for his bipartisan leanings and willingness to break with his own party orthodoxy on a variety of hot-button issues. Unlike in Georgia, the challenger here represents the more radical edge of his party. And political observers have to ask: Is there room for moderates in a party increasingly defined by polarization, extremism, and blind hatred for the other side?
Yes, we all sit on the edge of our seats to see whether or not Steve Laffey can topple Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee.
Still wrong? Oh dear.
Well, fortunately, we all have the riveting, unreplicable, unheard-of, absolutely singular Lieberman/Lamont race to pay attention to.
" Unlike in Georgia, the challenger here represents the more radical edge of his party"
ReplyDeleteYeah, those radical cable TV moguls and their radical Wall St. forefathers!
I hear Lamont has come out in favor of burning ticker tapes!
The lack of attention to the Laffey-Chafee race has baffled me for a while now. Why doesn't CNN obsess over that race? The whole "Democrats are ripping the party apart and leaving no room for moderates" thing really doesn't make sense when the Republicans have been nuking the center for ten or fifteen years.
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