Long Night, It Was

Wow, last night was a looong night. I slept fitfully once I finally went to bed, and as a result, stayed in bed until late, late this morning.

So. Lamont wins, and that’s all we’re gonna hear about for the next few days. In a way, this is a good thing. We need a break, however small, from all the stupidity going on in the Middle East and right here on the East River in NYC, for that matter.

It was a near-run thing. Lieberman will run as an Independent in November, and Lamont will run as the Fringe-Left Democrat. I watched both Lieberman’s and Lamont’s speeches in real-time last evening, and I was particularly struck by Lamont’s…uh… “stage presence.” John McIntrye at Real Clear Politics echoes my sentiments exactly:

Nationally, the images from last night are a disaster for the Democratic Party. Perched behind Lamont during his victory speech were the Reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, grinning ear to ear, serenaded by the chant of "Bring Them Home, Bring Them Home." For a party that has a profound public relations and substantive problem on national security, these are not exactly the images you want broadcast to the nation.

Anti-war Democrats and much of the mainstream media continue to confuse anti-war with anti-lose. The incessant commentary that 2/3rd of the country is against the war completely misreads the American public, as much of the negativity towards the war isn't because we are fighting, but rather a growing feeling that we are not fighting to win or not fighting smart.

As I watched Lamont’s victory speech I thought about what Mom used to say: “You’re known by the company you keep.” I damned sure don’t want the likes of Sharpton and Jackson, not to mention the whack-o contingent of American society, running things in Washington. And the NYT describes these people as “moderates?” It is to laugh. Ace laughs about that, long, hard, and quite well.

The New York Times is here to inform you that "moderate" now means the more extreme, partisan, and ideological wing of the liberal/Democratic coalition.

[…]

They think you're that stupid. They really do.

Here’s one of those “moderates,” Christy Hardin Smith at Firedoglake:

At some point, the folks who report on politics and the folks who run for office will wake up and understand that bloggers are merely Americans who try to amplify the sentiment of thousands more just like them. And the overwhelming sentiment that I have been hearing for months and months is that people have had enough of the lies, the manipulation, the self-dealing, the egos, the idiocy, the selfishness, and the outright dereliction of duty and lack of accountability from so many in Washington, D.C. in this rubber stamp Republican Congress…we’ve had enough. (ed: emphasis mine)

Yep, that’s a “moderate” point of view. Hamsher is usually the one carrying the Lamont banner at fdl; I imagine Sweet Jane has one helluva hang-over this morning, which may be why Hardin is posting and not Hamsher.

Kos posted this about a half-hour after Lieberman’s concession and Lamont’s victory speeches were said and done:

Joe Lieberman is not an independent Democrat. He needs to be stripped of his committee assignments and have those handed to real Democrats. And then we need to buckle down and finish the job we started.

Note the royal “we.” Good ol’ Markos, while generally insufferable in the past, is about to become absolutely intolerable as he stakes his claim for being a prime mover in Lamont’s win. The same can be said for the other “netroots” folks, such as Hamsher.

Let’s hear from one more twit:

Let the resounding defeat of Senator Joe Lieberman send a cold shiver down the spine of every Democrat who supported the invasion of Iraq and who continues to support, in any way, this senseless, immoral, unwinnable war. Make no mistake about it: We, the majority of Americans, want this war ended -- and we will actively work to defeat each and every one of you who does not support an immediate end to this war.

Nearly every Democrat set to run for president in 2008 is responsible for this war. They voted for it or they supported it. That single, stupid decision has cost us 2,592 American lives and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives. Lieberman and Company made a colossal mistake -- and we are going to make sure they pay for that mistake. Payback time started last night.

“Resounding defeat?” It looks to me like it was a near-run thing, what with Lamont getting a “resounding” 51.8% of the vote. But, hey…truth was never The Fat Man’s strong suit.

The bottom line, as I see it, is the Democrat party is still digging, as in “What’s the first thing you do when you find yourself in a hole? Stop digging.” Conventional wisdom says primary elections are the provenance of activists, moderates don’t turn out for these events. One could make a case that yesterday’s Connecticut primary was an exception, and I’m open to that argument…after all, anything’s possible. But, I think not. There were too many carpetbaggers involved, there was a lot of Move-On (read: Soros) money flung around, and the election was close. The Left won one last night. But I think the ultimate result will be as the ol’ saw says: “They won the battle but lost the war.” It’s gonna be interesting, indeed.

Oh! I almost forgot. More good news: McKinney lost. I looked all over for a transcript of her “concession” speech, but all I could find was a video. I watched the speech on C-SPAN in real-time and it was simply bizarre. Like the person giving it, I suppose. Good riddance and don’t let the door bang you in the ass on your way to court, Cynthia.