Primary Results

It's interesting to see that not only is Joe Lieberman out, but so is Joe Schwarz, a moderate Republican, in Michigan. Schwarz wasn't right-wing enough for some -- although he had the backing of the Washington establishment -- and he lost to Timothy Walberg, an ordained minister, who attacked Schwarz as being too liberal; for example, he didn't vote for the gay-bashing Constitutional amendment.

A lot of other bloggers who were a lot more involved in the Lieberman/Lamont race and who invested a lot of time and pixels in it will have a lot more to say about it than I will, but the one thing that stands out isn't just the result; it's how Sen. Lieberman took the defeat -- or rather didn't take it. His defiant "concession" speech -- vowing to continue on as an independent -- pretty much clarified why a lot of people who once supported him voted for someone else: they thought he had lost touch with his constituents.

The righties will all chime in and say that it's the death knell for the Democratic Party and that it is a sign of an irrevocable schism between the moderates -- Lieberman -- and the extremists -- Lamont and the hordes of bloggers. Yet the Schwarz/Walberg race -- according to them -- is no big deal; a True Believer beat a RINO. Nothing to see here, move along, move along.

The results of the Lieberman/Lamont and the Schwarz/Walberg races are saying the same thing: the electorate is restless and willing to go against the conventional wisdom and the establishment, and in terms of issues, it's not just about the local stuff. The mid-term election will be about the war in Iraq and the so-called "culture war." That should make for a very interesting November.

Oh, and Cynthia McKinney lost her run-off in Georgia. Whew.