Connecticut extremists, rise up! If Lamont wins, your new Senatorial candidate will have the same wacky, crazy-leftist opinion of the war in Iraq as ... Chuck Hagel. Wouldn't that be a dream come true for all of us out here on the radical fringe?
But it's not a done deal, despite what some people are saying. A 6% lead in the polls means nothing in primaries, where who actually shows up to vote is far more important than polls of "probable voters." Right now the Democratic Party is "Schrödinger's Cat" in the famous thought-experiment.
You know. That's the one where the cat is neither alive nor dead, until the behavior of the particle that might kill it is observed. The Party's in the middle of its own space-time vortex of self-examination (call it the Lieberman Uncertainty Principle), and will be until the election's over.
You can make a kooky radical dream come true. You know, the one where a clean-cut businessman from Greenwich gets nominated - a guy who agrees with most Americans on issues like war, taxation, and health care. But this way-out Utopian vision is far from a sure thing. So, Democrats of Connecticut, make a miracle!
Imagine the new Democratic Party that will then rise from the ashes of the old. It will be emboldened, visionary, no longer afraid to say things virtually every American is thinking: This is not a time for tax cuts to the wealthy. It makes sense to bring our troops home and let the Iraqis solve their own problems. We need to protect Social Security.
At last Hillary will be able to stop dancing madly whenever the subject of national security comes up. That would be an act of mercy, for her and everybody else. (If she can't dance, I want to be part of your revolution.) Evan Bayh will be able to look for other ways to prove he's "rightier" than the others. Joe Biden can stop acting so damned bipolar (about this issue, anyway.)
You can help save the Democratic Party ... or you can turn the page.
The astute reader may recognize that I'm using a variant of Bertolt Brecht's Verfremdungseffekt, or "alienation effect," in this post. With the "v-effekt," Brecht wanted his audiences to be aware that what they were watching did not reflect the real world. You know, kind of like TV news.
This was part of Brecht's plan for an "epic theatre," where you would always be aware you're watching a play. Here, I want you to be aware you're reading a predigested narrative, not creating one yourself. This drama won't be neatly resolved by someone else. You - yes, you - have to do something.
I may be mischaracterizing the V-effekt a little, I guess ... in fact, I probably don't know what the hell I'm talking about. But it's all to make a point. Brecht wanted his audiences to walk away dissatisfied, so that they would think - and therefore act - for themselves.
Blogger "audiences" have already written a very satisfactory ending to the Lamont/Lieberman race. But it's not over yet. 6% is nothing in a primary poll. It could go either way. (Did I say that already?)
I'm trying to leave you pro-Lamont CT voters "alienated" and dissatisfied, so that you'll get off your asses and vote! After that, hopefully, you'll still be alienated enough to knock on doors and get others to vote, too.
Is it working yet?
V-effect = vote.
V-effect = victory.
In closing, I call upon my fellow revolutionaries to take up arms ... er, ballots. To paraphrase those fraudulent Che Guevara diaries, I wish I were there with you in the belly of the beast! (In my case, that would be Stamford, CT, where I briefly lived and voted in the 90's.) The outcome is by no means certain, but the battle is for the heart and soul of our worldwide revolution.
Radicals of the world (well, Connecticut, anyway) - unite! You have nothing to lose but your reputations as slaves to the Blogging Extremists!
Comrades, let us sing our way to victory. All together now: "Debout, les damnés de la terre/Debout, les forçats de la faim/La raison tonne en son cratère ..." (Yeah, that's right. French!)
Imagine ... Democrats voting for someone who supports Democratic policies - policies most Americans support. I love the smell of insurrection in the morning, don't you?
Now STOP READING AND GO MAKE HISTORY!
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UPDATE: You know a man by the company he keeps ...
Matt Stoller has details on the contributions Lieberman's received in the last 15 days: $1,343,000 and change, of which only about $155,000 is from Connecticut.
A quick scan of the list Matt provides shows that Lieberman's donors include "Washington Group International" (according to its website, "markets served" include "threat reduction," "homeland security," and "defense infrastructure").
Big Pharma's represented by GlaxoSmithKline and Purdue Pharma (makers of Oxycontin). Several owner/employees of Henry Crown & Co contributed (Crown owns General Dynamics), as did employees of the Carlyle Group and Sikorsky.
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