My true and honest thoughts about this Arkansas Senate contest thus far. I am not left wing or right wing when it comes to my opinion, so if some of you get offended: TOUGH.
It seems THIS Blanche also depended on the kindness of strangers. At least enough of them voted for her to allow her to squeak by Bill Halter last night. Here's just some of my random thoughts on this race thus far and going forward.
Let's be honest, this Arkansas Senate primary was never about the personalities known as Blanche Lincoln, the incumbent centrist senator who voted the wrong way one too many times, or Bill Halter, the Lt. Gov. looking to make a name for himself with the union bucks to back it up. This race was a microcosm of the plight of establishment parties like the Democratic Party with its own base. It doesn't matter who's in charge, Obama or Clinton, but Washington's logic and the logic of the grassroots people across the country are pretty much incompatible. They think Blanche is a winner, while the grassroots sees the same in Halter. Neither side within the party can understand the logic of the other for choosing either a tainted candidate (Lincoln) or an untested candidate (Halter). Sometimes there are exceptions, like in Pennsylvania last month, but in Arkansas, a more conservative state, the White House probably saw the political situation and thought Lincoln, a centrist Democrat, was a better fit than a more liberal Halter.
I also see this primary race as a clash between the big money from unions and the big money from the corporations. Again, this was never about Lincoln vs. Halter, they're just the two names that happened to be on the ballot. Unions such as the SEIU and others ended up pouring over $5 million into Halter's campaign coffers for this little exercise, and they still lost. Lincoln may have criticized Halter for taking in so much out of state contributions, but she herself has received donations from the health care lobby, the pharma lobby, as well as others in her own campaign. The thought of one lambasting the other for doing the same thing is laughable. I understand that in small states, most financial donations usually are from out of state, but it just seemed that more emphasis was placed on union contributions than on small online donations through ActBlue and other activists.
Reflecting on the argument of winnability, Halter would seemed to have a been a better and exciting choice. Joe Sestak fits that profile, even though he's been in Congress for 4 years. Whatever disadvantages Halter had as a 'liberal' and the fact that he was pretty much backed up by union money would probably have been offset by the fact that he's a complete outsider running for Senate by running against the establishment. The outsider Halter vs. the insider Boozeman would have been one heck of a race. Instead, now Arkansans are stuck with one corporate insider versus another corporate insider. Not much of a choice for Arkansans is it?
Does anyone think that Republicans seem to be better at beating the establishment than Democrats? Bob Bennett had no scandals; he just voted the wrong way and he got trounced. Arlen Specter was a party switcher; nuff said. Blanche Lincoln had the same profile as Bennett: no scandals, no controversies, she just voted the wrong way one too many times also. Yet she survived. What is it that Democrats can't do right?
But in general, was there ever a real choice for Arkansans? Halter, Boozeman, and Lincoln were all career politicians. They never created a job, or started a small business, had never run a business, or had to deal with sustaining a business during a recession. All three were backed either by big unions, big pharma, or big business. Could any one of them claim to really understand the plight of the average Joe? I didn't think so.
So once again, congratulations to Senator-elect John Boozeman, the most bland and uninspiring name for a Senate candidate I've ever heard. If Blanche Lincoln even wants to see another Senate paycheque come next year, her only hope is to REALLY depend on the kindness of strangers. But alas, at this point it seems to be nothing but a pipe dream.