TPM guest blogger DK raised a provocative point that I’ve been mulling over lately. I’d love to get some feedback on the argument.
Should progressives shift their money and attention from the Connecticut Senate race to more important contests? Absolutely.
Look, one of the Dems’ problems in recent years is an inability to walk and chew gum at the same time. Rove Republicans throw everything but the kitchen sink into various electoral strategies. They don’t worry if the strategies are inconsistent or even diametrically opposed. Some will work; some won’t. But you don’t know what will stick until you throw it against the wall. Meanwhile, Dems engage in agonizing strategy debates, looking for that one electoral silver bullet.
So I am all for multi-tasking: pay passing attention to the Connecticut race, while focusing with laser intensity on the races that will actually determine control of the Senate…. Rove may be goading Democrats into fighting like hell amongst themselves in Connecticut, but that doesn’t mean we have to take the bait.
My friend Alec Oveis made a similar argument recently, shortly before Lieberman’s primary defeat.
What disturbs me about this primary battle isn’t so much that some people want Joe Lieberman purged from the Democratic Party. That’s fine. What disappoints me is that this seems like a terrible waste of influence. Kos, Stoller, and Hamsher could have gone to Connecticut to help Democrats defeat actual Republicans. Instead, they’re there helping one Democrat defeat another. I understand that Lieberman sometimes serves a useful role for Republicans, but I’m afraid some bloggers and activists have lost sight of the real goal for 2006 — retaking the House — and in the process have made it more difficult to achieve.
What do you guys think? Is defeating Lieberman a key to taking back the party and establishing a precedent, or is the left investing too much time in the wrong race when we could be focusing our resources in Ohio, Montana, Missouri, and Virginia, as well as key House races? Or is this not an either/or situation, and Dems should try and do it all?
