If you are racking your brains to try to figure out what yesterday's election results in Connecticut, Georgia and elsewhere might bode for the future, good luck.
In Connecticut, Democratic voters dumped incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman for a moveon.org anti-war candidate, Ned Lamont.
Lesson: The super liberal, anti-war wing has taken control of the Democratic Party, and Democrats will now all move to the left. Oops. That could be bad for conservatives because it leave more room in the middle (farther from the right) for Republican lawmakers. Republicans and Democrats will both drift farther to the left.
In Georgia, Democratic voters dumped super-liberal, anti-war incumbent Cynthia McKinney for a run-of-the mill liberal who gets along with Republicans.
Lesson: The super liberal, anti-war wing is losing its grip on the Democratic Party, and Democrats have to move away from the left to win. It's one small step for conservatives, one giant step for McKinney's embarrassed constituents. (You may have noticed that lesson #1 and #2 appear to conflict)
In Michigan, moderate Republican Rep. Joe Schwarz lost to a conservative in a GOP primary.
Lesson: Republican voters are punishing incumbents who become too moderate (read that "liberal") so Republican lawmakers will now begin to shape up and ship right.
In Connecticut, critics tarred Lieberman with the accusation that he was too close to President Bush. In Michigan, the loser (Schwartz) had the support of President Bush.
Lesson: Both Democratic and Republican voters hate President Bush. Or maybe they are just fed up with incumbents.
If you are not confused yet, don't worry, the pundits still have nearly three months to confuse you before the general election. Then, you'll drive yourself to the poll and vote for the person you like the best or dislike the least, and it will be for reasons that are personal and important to you, and there's a pretty good chance the pundits will never have asked you "just what IS important to you this year?"
Voters don’t send messages. They simply vote for candidates they like the best. If there is a lesson to be learned about Americans in general and our priorities, you won't learn it from a few primary elections.
Ralph Bristol |
The Party system in this country is just so strange right now. Now, if you disagree with Lieberman, fine, but it seems like there was rabid hatred that came about all of a sudden. Anti-war? Fine. And I understand how serious an issue the war is to people but it is not the only issue that confronts Americans today. There just seems to be something going on and I can't describe it.
I guess these primaries are a testament to the jumble this country is right now, and Ralph's writing here seems to suggest one thing: that our two party's both seem to be headed in various directions within one another (Democrats moreso than the Republicans), perhaps the formation of more parties? I am willing to bet, like the Reform party of 1992/96 and the Green of 2000/04, another party, who knows maybe two, emerge come 2008, and have more of an impact than Perot and Nader combined.
Donald Trump 2008!!