Despite Ark. loss, progressives say Lincoln runoff sent warning to incumbent Democrats

[IndianaGreen]

Despite Ark. loss, progressives say Lincoln runoff sent warning to incumbent Democrats

By Philip Rucker and Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 9, 2010; 11:52 AM

Lincoln's win stunned labor and progressive leaders. But regardless, they said every penny spent to support Halter was worth it. Forcing Lincoln into a race for survival, they said, demonstrated to other moderate Democrats in the country that support from the party's liberal base cannot be taken for granted.

"The calculus has shifted," said Ilyse Hogue, the political advocacy director of the liberal advocacy group MoveOn, whose members helped bankroll Halter's campaign. "The message is out there for all sitting Democrats that their seats are not safe unless they're willing to show some fight on behalf of working families."

Steve Rosenthal, a veteran labor organizer who was a key strategist in the campaign against Lincoln, said forcing her into a runoff and having Halter come within four percentage points of her on Tuesday was "a phenomenal victory."

"There are other senators sitting on Capitol Hill saying, 'I don't want to go through what Senator Lincoln went through,' and that's the important lesson," Rosenthal said. "The labor movement is about protecting rights and expanding rights for workers. As long as the labor movement is seen as spending its resources only to protect Democrats, it loses."

Some political observers in Arkansas agreed that the unions had a notable impact.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/09/AR2010060902882.html?hpid=topnews

[Thrill]

1. Neither of them had a chance to win the General Election

Halter or Lincoln. It was a complete waste of time and money.

[WhiteTara]

23. BS

Booseman doesn't have that great of name recognition in the state...he's the rep in the first district...includes Bentonville, but he isn't beloved.

[Bryn]

2. K & R

[daleanime]

3. Do you think that Lincoln's opponent...

won't take note of how she 'won' the primary? :evilgrin:

[WhiteTara]

24. well, he is a repuke

so I'm sure he took note.

[cowman]

4. Amazing

they're calling a loss a win. What a bunch of morons

[Sebastian Doyle]

6. So we're "morons" now?

I thought we were "fucking retards"?

I really wish you DLC'ers would make up your mind about which insults you're going to throw at the people who built this goddamned party.

[cowman]

7. I'm calling the idiots who say this is a win morons.

how do you call this a win? Halter LOST. Calling it a win means you, and I'm not saying you specifically, are morons

[Sebastian Doyle]

8. I'm not calling it a win for anybody.

Except maybe the admitted Republican. Boozer, or whatever the fuck his name is.

Halter didn't win, because he was robbed.

Blanche WalMart didn't win - she stole it.

The Democratic party sure as fuck didn't win. Neither did the people of Arkansas.

But the fact that she had to steal it, is in fact, evidence that this DLC crap isn't cutting it anymore. Not even in the goddamn armpit of the Bible Belt "where libruls can't win".

[Jester Messiah]

17. It's definitely not a win

The only silver lining is that Blanche had to spend up way more of her war-chest than she would have liked during the primary, and that's gonna hurt in the main event. Others like her will be cognizant of this and will pay more attention to their base, though it's still going to be a cost/benefit calculation.

It's not great, it's barely even good, but we've got to salvage what we can from this train wreck.

[AlinPA]

21. She didn't help herself with progressives by helping Mukowski with her amendment

today to stop the EPA from regulations needed for climate change.

[wyldwolf]

12. they said the same thing when Ned Lamont lost

It was a message, they declared, to Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden and others like them. But what would you expect them to say? That's politics.

[Sebastian Doyle]

16. And if Connecticut had the same laws as nearly every other state

Lieberdouche would have been finished. He "won" the general election running on as a member of his own fictional one man party, with Republican votes.

Democrats voted for Lamont. In both the primary AND the general.

[Jennicut]

19. No, Dems split and some voted for Lieberman. I have lived in CT my whole life and

some Dems were still loyal to Lieberman for various reasons...like protecting the Sub contracts for Groton.

Lieberman has lost support of Dems and independents that helped him win in 2006, he will have a tough rode in 2012, thankfully. He only has the Rethugs left.

In Arkansas, the loyalty factor to Lincoln was smaller but the liberal netroots and Unions are less influential there.

[Enrique]

15. they're saying it served a purpose

I agree. :thumbsup:

[closeupready]

5. Of course. That's why she was humiliatingly forced into a runoff in the first place.

n/

[daleanime]

13. And the words...

Closed polling places-will be attached to her name for the rest of her life.:grr:

[closeupready]

14. Oh yeah. Nobody willing to accept that kind of money from special interests

is going to say no to any tactic that lets her retain the seat, even if it's crooked.

[daleanime]

18. Too true...

still it's a very sad thing to say about 'our' government.

[OHdem10]

9. Yesterday, before the election results., a professor (Pol Sci) said

the Unions went into this with a purpose. The purpose
was to put Democrats on notice. The Anchor asked --what
if they lose after spending all that money. The Professor
said that is not the point. The Unions are sending a message
and are fully aware they may lose. The message is the focus
for the Unions. This was 4 o'clockish in the pm before the election.

I would say in a Red, Right to work state look how well their
candidate did. By their measure, this is a victory.

[LiberalFighter]

11. I totally agree. Do Democrats really want to fight the Republicans on their own?

Who knows... some of the other supporters might stay out or reduce their support too.

[otohara]

10. Stay Away From Colorado Primary... Barack Obama

Bill Clinton, Lanny Davis, Joe Biden.

Michael Bennet is not an incumbent!

[Jennicut]

20. Bennett is legally the incumbent but perhaps Obama will learn

that helping the incumbent out is not worth it. Interfering in primaries does not help the Dem party.

[freddie mertz]

22. We have not yet begun to fight.

Just wait till 2012.

[Juche]

25. The GOP is afraid of their base. The DNC is not

That is the problem. The GOP is afraid of the tea party and religious right. However the dems expect liberals and unions to just blindly support any democrat in any election.

So just the fact that $10 million for Halter that could've gone to blue dogs instead went to a primary from the left may force the DNC to become more liberal. If they want to avoid 'seeing $10 million flushed down the toilet' in their words they'd better push their incumbents to the left so they can avoid more expensive primary elections.

[Jester Messiah]

26. Have you seen the GOP's base?

Scary doesn't half cover it.

[okieinpain]

27. i'll agree with that, guess billy boy still has coattails. did you

see how man black people they had on the stage behind her. man you hardly see that many blacks on stage at the bet awards. funny stuff.