On The Trail: Something About August....
Has any other primary night (in a non-redistricting year) ever produced three incumbent losses before? Chuck Todd looks at Lieberman's defeat.The search for the elusive swing voter has kept the political consulting world in the money for years. And yet, if the primary electorates are allowed to speak, it appears that DINOs(aurs) and RINOs(aurs) are endangered species. Lieberman and Schwarz are both middle-of-the-roaders within their (former) parties. And both lost for being just that: centrists. How's Lincoln Chafee feeling now? A Chafee defeat to Steve Laffey in the GOP's Rhode Island Senate primary will indeed signal that primary purity is here to stay.
Does this trend also spell trouble for Hillary Clinton or John McCain? Possibly. Of course, Clinton and McCain are now getting fair warning of the volatile climates inside their respective parties, and both are already trying to make nice with their bases.
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Chuck, you still don't get it.
Lieberman didn't lose because he was a centrist. He lost because of his perceived closeness to Bush and for continually undercutting a unified Democratic message.
I wonder if the traditional media will ever get it. Or is this just stubborn refusal on your part to acknowledge what has been so obvious to Connecticut Democrats?