Bill Halter, the Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas, has announced that he will primary against Blanche Lincoln. If Nate Silver is to be believed (and he usually is), neither one of them stands much chance in the general election, though Halter’s chances are a wee bit better.
Back in 2006 our own Ned Lamont showed the Democrats the error of their ways as they all tried to run away from the Iraq issue. He lost, but they won, partly because they finally got it through their heads that people really, really didn’t like George Bush and his war.
If early indications prove true, Halter will be going after Lincoln as a tool of Wall Street and corporate America. He’ll have money too (give through the organization of your choice. Moveon or Act Blue). We progressives may be a bit dispirited, given the way the folks we elected have run away from everything they said they stood for, but we’re not giving up. We might not be able to match Lincoln’s corporate contributors dollar for dollar, but that’s probably not necessary to take her down.
If he does beat her, it’s fifty-fifty that the Democrats will draw the right lesson, but there’s always a glimmer of hope. And so far as the general is concerned, this will be a good year to be an anti-Wall Street, anti corporate candidate. You never know. In any event, the Democratic Party is a big tent party, but we really don’t need folks like Lincoln pulling the tent down from inside, and she’s going to lose anyway, so have at her.
Of course we shouldn’t feel too sorry for Lincoln. Next year at this time she’ll be pulling down big bucks lobbying for her corporate masters.
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