Obey and the Political Environment

Last night three incumbents lost in their primaries - two democrats and one Republican.

Let's rundown why.

Joe Lieberman lost in his Senate primary to Ned Lamont over his support for the War in Iraq, but that was only a small part of the equation. The liberal bloggers riled up the left wing base and sent a message to Lieberman that hard core left wingers expect their Democrats to oppose and obstruct Republicans on everything rather than trying to get anything done. Most pundits believe Lieberman will win as an independent in November because Republicans didn't put up a real nominee.

Joe Schwarz, a Republican in the U.S. House, lost his primary in Michigan because he was too liberal of a Republican for the Republicans in the district.

Cynthia McKinney lost her second primary of the last three in Georgia. Her little run in with a Capitol Police officer where she struck him in the chest with a cell phone after he tried to stop her at a security checkpoint was the last straw in a list of embarassing incidents for her.

Here's our overall analysis: voters are willing to make a change this year. It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or a Republican, if you're out of touch with your district, you are vulnerable this year. And no one is more out of touch with his district than Dave Obey. He takes votes far to the left of the overwhelming majority of his district. He neglects visits to the district, trading them for all expense-paid trips to exotic locations.

Help us throw Obey Out of office in November. Spread the word, write letters to the editor, call in to local talk radio, talk to friends and neighbors, contribute to Nick Reid (we endorsed Reid, but the Republican nominee will need money, lots of it) whatever you can do, do it.