What are we doing wrong?

[Onlooker]

Lamont, if he wins, is going to win by a small margin. Is this the seachange we're all looking for? Or is this the result of a Democratic Party that has turned Republican? Are we really so weak that we can't even convincingly defeat a DINO in a primary in a fairly liberal state? If this race is a sign of things to come, there's no way the Democrats will make headway come November. This race is very disappointing.

[Teaser]

1. oh please

do you have any idea how hard it is to unseat an incumbent? any idea at all?


Don't bring that whiny shit here.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

18. You said it more kindly than I would have

:thumbsup:


This is a BIG WIN for us. :)

[Strawman]

38. Yeah. This happens exactly, umm, almost never

It's a huge fucking deal. More than anything it proves all the cynical insider hacks wrong. The Dean campaign was the first step, this is a leap forward. Now Lamont needs to finish the job and win the general election. The grassroots rose up and took the endorsement of the Democratic party from a man who seemed to believe he was entitled to it and totally unaccountable to them.

I'll be a skeptic tomorrow. Today, change feels possible.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

2. Find that dark cloud in the silver lining.

What was the name of that gloomy sad sack in Lil Abner
with the dark cloud over his head all the time?

[Renew Deal]

3. 98% of incuments are relected. You know how many win their primaries?

More than 99%. It's hard to beat an incumant. Especially a senator.

[marmar]

15. Exactly...

The fact that this race was even competitive indicated an uprising, and a Lamont win is indeed a sea change.

[spooky3]

24. Yep. Kos on Olbermann said 3 incumbents have lost in the primary

in a very long time.

[Iniquitous Bunny]

25. Bam!

The odds were so stacked against Lamont and he's doing it. That says a lot.

[jonnyblitz]

37. Especially a senator entrenched in the "establishment" who

was once a Vice Presidential candidate.

[DemPopulist]

4. You have no sense of perspective

n/t

[NMDemDist2]

5. i don't think so. I wonder how many of the folks who registered as Dem

for this primary usually vote Republican?

those are the numbers that would change my mind (if the "unaffiliated" were libs to begin with)

[HockeyMom]

22. Took me 30 years, and George W. Bush,

to change from an Independent to a Democrat.

[SoFlaJet]

6. you kiddin me?

with this kind of a margin Bush would have called it a landslide...ahem

[quiet.american]

7. If you're serious, Lamont already has a significant victory.

I'm too tired to get into the why's and wherefore's, but I'm sure there's more discussion already on this on DU.

[Pale Blue Dot]

8. Are you kidding?

An no-name candidate comes from 30 points behind to beat a 3-term, popular incumbant? What are you smoking? THIS IS HUGE!!!!!!!!!!

We are doing everything RIGHT, for once!!

:woohoo:

[Iniquitous Bunny]

28. Isn't that HUGH!!!!111!!! ?

:D

[CountAllVotes]

35. yes, results at last!

A real victory for We the People!

Take back America! :patriot:

[WilliamPitt]

9. Oy vey

Long-time incumbents never lose. Ever.

This makes anti-war a winning issue.

This will scare the cheese out of every middle-of-the-road asshat Democrat who supported this thing. They'll be scrambling for cover like ducksa in a hailstorm if Lamont wins.

This changes the whole board for '08, and in a good way.

[AX10]

10. I'm from CT. Let me tell you that Joe is a senior Senator with...

alot of power behind him. He was able to get alot of votes. Just remember, a few months back, Ned was not taken seriously by anyone. Tonight, he might just win the nod to run for this seat as a Democrat.

[fishwax]

11. this is huge

regardless of the margin. Winning against a stacked deck is an accomplishment for sure.

[malaise]

21. And huge is an understatement

this is massive.

[asthmaticeog]

12. Perfect is the enemy of good.

OK, we may not have a revolution, but remember:

A) this is one state, and a small one at that.

B) the most repellent DINO in the US Senate looks to have been given the shoe.

[Zynx]

13. Against a three term incumbent? Any victory is impressive.

This is just nonsense.

[ruggerson]

14. Try to get familiar with history

There are a only a handful of senators in the last 30 years that have been defeated in a primary, when they are seeking re election.

It almost never occurs.

This is historic, if Ned pulls this out.

[liberalhistorian]

16. WTF? Please say you forgot to

put the sarcasm smiley in your post! Lamont was a virtual unknown just a few months ago, and now he's poised to unseat one of the most entrenched incumbents in the senate, which is and always has been damn near impossible to do, and you have the stupidity to call that DISAPPOINTING? Good God, I'd hate to see what you'd consider a victory!

[rurallib]

17. Chimpy won by @1.5% and he declared it a landslide!

It would have been nice to put a huge slapdown on Joementum but beating an incumbent by even a few votes is a HUGE deal.

[aquart]

19. Thank you for your concern.

It's defeatist, and useless, but thank you for your effort.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

20. Sigh.

There's always gonna somebody who wants to crap in our cornflakes.

Fact is, Lamont came out of nowhere to challenge an entrenched, well-funded incumbent who had a lot of support from the party establishment. A lot of people didn't even think Lamont would get enough votes at the state convention to qualify to run in this election. So what if he doesn't win by a landslide? It looks like he's about to take down a guy who was once the VP candidate, who ran for President himself, and who was endorsed by Bill Clinton. That's a huge victory, and I'm happy to have it.

[lonestarnot]

23. This is so full of shit, it doesn't deserve a response!

[Cleita]

26. Even if he wins by a small margin, it proves that

we can win by a small margin if we turn out like we should. It also says to me that the elections are compromised any way you look at it. Yes, I know these are Democrats voting for Democrats, but hasn't JL been praised a lot by the RW lately? Since he votes their way, they don't mind backing another Zell Miller.

[Mr_Spock]

27. OMG - this newby is beating a 3!!! term incumbant in the PRIMARY!!!!

This is a HUGE HUGE HUGE story if Lamont holds on and wins.

You are on some serious drugs and have NO idea what you are talking about.

[tridim]

29. This is the first major victory for our side in about 10 years.

and you're disappointed?

[Reckon]

30. The voters really don't have all the info on Joe like we do... n/t

[derby378]

31. You may be witnessing the death of the DLC's stranglehold on the party

The people have awoken - and they have spoken!

:headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

Ned Lamont's Unofficial Fight Song

[Onlooker]

32. All I'm saying ...

... is that this race is no sign of a sea change. It's a sign that Democrats are not particularly anti-war, so that message isn't flying. I'm very glad Lamont will most likely win, but you must be kidding if you see this as some sort of watershed. I was hoping for a bigger victory. After all, Lamont was leading in the polls by 11 points not too long ago. Wonder which demographic didn't vote.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

34. ... is give pessimistic negativism a chance.

[Pale Blue Dot]

39. BAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

Wow. Just wow.

:woohoo:

[jgundrey]

33. Not too surprising.

Don't underestimate the power of incumbency. People don't like change unless something really negative happens with an incumbent. The margins are smaller in Lamont's favor than we'd like. But remember that Lieberman isn't guilty of any real wrongdoing or scandal. That's what it would have taken for a larger margin loss. Keep the faith. People have become so used to corruption that it'll be harder to get them to vote Democratic. It'll take some sudden, Watergate-like scandals to shake loose a sea change.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

36. "Are we really so weak"

Please don't include me in the weak defeatist mentality of a loser department.

Thanks.

[Melynn]

40. Too negative

This is a hugh victory. Bush can't be happy that his war buddy lost the election.

[BuyingThyme]

41. Achieving the impossible is not doing wrong.

[carpetbagger]

42. Nothing. You don't beat a sitting senator by a big margin.

Look at the 2002 NH GOP primary. Bob Smith lost by less than 10 percent.

Bob Smith actually left the GOP for part of his term.
John Sununu had a well-known family name.
John Sununu was a professional politician, and already represented half of the state in the House.
The GOP establishment came out big time for Sununu.

Still, no real big margin.