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Democrats "purging" their party?

zakur

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Z
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Some are claiming that Lieberman's loss in last week's primary is evidence of the Democrats "purging" their party of moderates in favor of radical leftists. Incumbents lose primaries all the time. Why all of the sudden are some folks claiming that the Dems are purging/self-destructing?

What other recent examples of Democrat incumbents losing purging can be cited? I see that another Dem incumbent, Cynthia McKinney of Georgia, also lost in her primary. But wait...she's one of those "radical leftists" the Dems are supposedly trying to put/keep in office.

What about on the other side of the political aisle. This week, the current governor of Alaska—a Republican—was soundly defeated in that state's primaries. And Michigan Rep. Joe Schwarz, a moderate Republican, lost to Tim Walberg, a conservative former state representative. Looks to me like the Republicans are purging moderates as well? Perhaps they are self-destructing, too?
 
Good.

I hope they self destruct, and the liberitarian party becomes the offical opposition.
 
Azure said:
Good.

I hope they self destruct, and the liberitarian party becomes the offical opposition.
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That would be cool. Two hour recess, and no more homework! Every time I see a libertarian candidate I can't help but think of that guy running for student council president in 5th grade.

Daredelvis
 
daredelvis said:
That would be cool. Two hour recess, and no more homework! Every time I see a libertarian candidate I can't help but think of that guy running for student council president in 5th grade.

Daredelvis
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I guess I forgot the sarcasm meter...
 
zakur said:
Some are claiming that Lieberman's loss in last week's primary is evidence of the Democrats "purging" their party of moderates in favor of radical leftists.
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Ridiculous. That's a Connecticut issue, just as your example is an Alaska issue (which is only slightly more removed from mainstream life than Connecticut is).

Now, Howard Dean becoming DNC chairman, THAT'S a sign of favoring radical leftists.
 
zakur said:
Some are claiming that Lieberman's loss in last week's primary is evidence of the Democrats "purging" their party of moderates in favor of radical leftists. Incumbents lose primaries all the time. Why all of the sudden are some folks claiming that the Dems are purging/self-destructing?

What other recent examples of Democrat incumbents losing purging can be cited? I see that another Dem incumbent, Cynthia McKinney of Georgia, also lost in her primary. But wait...she's one of those "radical leftists" the Dems are supposedly trying to put/keep in office.
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First, I don't think the issue is primarily about "radicalism" per se, though I think it does favor radicalism. It's about the party forming a litmus test: essentially, if you don't take the right stance on a particular issue, you're not welcome in the party. Lieberman was opposed on really one issue: the Iraq war. He didn't pass the litmus test, and he got booted for it. Other than that, he was very much a democrat and also an effective politician.

Cynthia McKinney? She got booted because she's an incompetent twit who didn't accomplish anything for her constituents.

What about on the other side of the political aisle. This week, the current governor of Alaska—a Republican—was soundly defeated in that state's primaries.
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Not comparable to Lieberman. He's a one-term governor, and he had absolutely terrible approval ratings (dipping below 20%).

And Michigan Rep. Joe Schwarz, a moderate Republican, lost to Tim Walberg, a conservative former state representative. Looks to me like the Republicans are purging moderates as well? Perhaps they are self-destructing, too?
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According to your own links, Walberg and Schwarz battled it out on a range of issues, not one single issue. Again: I don't think this is about "moderates" or "radicals" per se. I think it's about whether or not the party has a litmus test. If you're battling it out on a whole range of issues, that indicates to me that there isn't some make-or-break single issue. But that wasn't the case with Lieberman. Lamont ran, and won, on only a single issue: the Iraq war. That's a litmus test. And even if the POSITION that is required to pass this litmus test is a moderate position, it's not good for the health of the party. The republicans don't face that kind of single-issue rigidity right now, but the democrats appear to be heading that way. Trying to say that the republicans have problems too won't solve things for the democrats.
 
I suspect Dean got the DNC not because Democrats wanted a radical-left. What I think most Democrats want is a moderate who nonetheless is outspoken and not Republican-lite. Dean sold himself as this and got the spot. Note this has no bearing on whether Dean is actually a moderate.
 
 
Well, Bill Clinton supported Lieberman. From CNN.COM before the primary:

"Bill Clinton, campaigning to save an old friend from defeat, appealed to Connecticut Democrats Monday to put aside their opposition to the war in Iraq and re-elect Sen. Joseph Lieberman to a new term."

That seems to indicate to me that "the party" didn't want to get rid of Lieberman. But it wasn't that "the party" (whoever that is) that got rid of Lieberman anyhow; he quit the party in order to run as an independent after he lost the primary.
 
I don't think there are enough good people in democrat party to pull off any kind of purging of the half-a$$ed Republicans from the party.

And there is no such thing as a "radical-leftwing" Democrat. Unless your only understanding of what it means to be leftwing(let alone radical) you go from conservative talkshow hosts.
 
gnome said:
I suspect Dean got the DNC not because Democrats wanted a radical-left. What I think most Democrats want is a moderate who nonetheless is outspoken and not Republican-lite. Dean sold himself as this and got the spot. Note this has no bearing on whether Dean is actually a moderate.
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Generally only highly-motivated radicals vote in the primaries - it's a system that slowly crowds out the moderates in favor of wackos.
 
Polaris said:
Generally only highly-motivated radicals vote in the primaries - it's a system that slowly crowds out the moderates in favor of wackos.
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How did Clinton get the nod in '92 then? He was considered by many to be TOO moderate.
 
gnome said:
I suspect Dean got the DNC not because Democrats wanted a radical-left. What I think most Democrats want is a moderate who nonetheless is outspoken and not Republican-lite. Dean sold himself as this and got the spot. Note this has no bearing on whether Dean is actually a moderate.
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To paraphrase another famous Democrat, LBJ, they'd rather have him inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in.

One of the things I find so enjoyable about all this is recalling how often people complain oh so bitterly that we don't have enough choices in our campaigns, that one candidate is just like another, there's no room for a third party, a third party candidate can't get elected because his positions always get co-opted by one of the two major parties, isn't it a goddam shame, blah blah blah.

Now that Connecticut has a genuine choice among a conservative Republican, a moderate-to-left independent, and a hard left Democrat, everyone (well, all the true-believer Dems, anyway) is screaming that this is a betrayal of the Democratic party and that Lieberman should lose his committee seats, how dare he run and defy the will of the people of Connecticut, blah blah blah. It is a wonderful, glorious little piece of hypocrisy, like a dead mackeral, that shines and stinks at the same time (someone look up the cite for that quote, please...).
 
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And to think, this guy was the VP nominee just a few short years ago.

Now, an outcast from his party. All because of a single issue.
 
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