Hell, MoveOn.org is dividing everyone who doesn't wish to "rock the political boat" because they may lose the soccer mom vote. So what...they're losing pro-Bush, do-nothing, please-sir-may-I-have-another Democrats. I know my heart sure isn't breaking.
This tug of war is similar to a push by conservative Republicans in the early 1990s to take over the party structure and elevate such social issues as abortion. That intraparty feud contributed to the re-election defeat of President George H. W. Bush in 1992 but helped fuel the conservative Republican takeover of Congress two years later.
The Connecticut showdown comes at a time when the Democratic Party is struggling to reposition itself after successive presidential-election losses. For all its momentum, MoveOn hasn't scored a major victory, despite its rapid mobilization of people and money around the world. Its members backed 2004 Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean, who lost in early primaries. It rallied behind the Ohio Senate candidacy of Democrat Paul Hackett, an antiwar Iraq veteran, who in February angrily quit the primary under pressure from party leaders anxious to clear the way for Rep. Sherrod Brown. And this summer MoveOn made voter-turnout calls for Democrat Francine Busby, who lost a high-profile House special election to replace convicted Republican Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham in San Diego.
A Lamont loss would take the edge off threats by MoveOn and online activists to punish candidates who defy the party's so-called "netroots." But a successful challenge to Mr. Lieberman could embolden an energetic and left-leaning wing of the Democratic party, which for the first time this year is weighing into congressional primary races.
"This puts the political class on notice that they have to pay attention to people outside the Beltway," says Eli Pariser, MoveOn's 25-year-old executive director.
No comments:
Post a Comment