I feel like I've been holding my breath over this race for the last two months. Right now, I want to give Connecticut Democrats a hug, because they did several things that are remarkable: almost 50% of registered Democrats (those eligible to vote in the primary) showed up and voted; many presidential primaries don't draw this many voters. This was due to both the very clear distinction between the candidates (Lamont appears to be a true progressive and a partisan Democrat, Leiberman wishes he was a Republican), and the hard work done by both sides to GOTV. Even here we see another distinction; Lamont had an army of volunteers to compliment his staffers, while Leiberman basically bought an expensive ground effort. Much has been made in the press about how Lamont is wealthy, even being accused by some (mainly, leiberman supporters) of trying to buy the race. It's worth mentioning that Leiberman spent $10 Million on this primary to Lamont's $4 Million, it's a shame the press hasn't mentioned it yet.

Lamont's win gives me a great deal of hope that the discontent over the direction of the US that I feel along with the rest of the progressive netroots is not something that we feel alone; results like this show me that this could indeed be a national sentiment, one much larger than the group of frusterated political junkies and activists who have been keeping me company during the past few years. Democrats now have a clear shining example that they should listen to their base and stick to their guns; Democrats are starting to learn that it's time to fight and hold all elected politicians accountable for their actions. I can't wait to see how far this goes, and if Joe Lieberman indeed wants to prove that he's true Democrat, as he so often claims, then he should do what a real Democrat would do: drop out of the race and campaign for Lamont.

Labels: Politics