I just opened up today's
Wall Street Journal and lo and behold, there's a profile of Ned Lamont on the editorial page. Better yet, its headline reads, "Kos Celeb." Ironically, it was written by James Taranto, who regularly lambastes dKos, referring to it as "the fever swamp of the Angry Left" and similar choice phrasses.
Since Taranto's prose is in a forum seen by millions, he's brought his "A" game today. There's more below the Mendoza Line...
On Thursday, Taranto journeyed up to Lamont's headquarters in Meriden to talk with the candidate. His impression?
I don't agree with Mr. Lamont about much, but I like him. He's not quite a political neophyte--he has run for office before, winning a seat as a Greenwich town selectman and losing a state Senate race--but he's more an enthusiast than a professional. A successful businessman who made his fortune setting up cable TV systems for college campuses, he has a job to return to if his election bid fails. With nothing to lose, he can afford a refreshing candor.
I was surprised to learn that the Journal played a part in getting Lamont to run. The impetus--perhaps "final straw" is more appropriate--was Liberman's November 29, 2005, op-ed entitled "Our Troops Must Stay."
And I was pleased to find out that Lamont holds the Democratic Party's mandarins in the same minimal high regard that I have for them. He offers this analysis of the last election:
"I think we should have been a lot bolder as a party during [the 2004] campaign, and probably the previous campaigns. Come out and say what you believe. . . . The Republicans are really good at talking about the principles that they believe in. And be bold. If you think preschool should be a right for all 4-year-olds . . . go out there and say it, and give people something to believe in."
Lamont also has a rejoinder to those who wrongly portray him as a one-issue candidate, running on Iraq alone. In the interview, he took issue with Lieberman's support of school vouchers and Social Security privatization, and his timidity on universal health care. He also criticized the senator's support of the budget-busting energy and highway bills.
Taranto summed up his interview by bringing up dKos's won-lost record in election races (along with that of MoveOn.org). That said, he did close on this relatively high note:
But politics is not without surprises. Just ask Mr. Lieberman, who 18 years ago upset a three-term incumbent, liberal Republican Sen. Lowell Weicker, by running to his right. Not surprisingly, Mr. Weicker, who subsequently left the GOP, this year is backing Mr. Lamont. All politics is local, even when it's national.
One final thought. Ever wonder why both the Right and the mandarins have been beating us up lately? Taranto offers this suggestion:
Party leaders in Washington frown on challenges to incumbents, and Minority Leader Harry Reid has reportedly asked Mr. Lamont to back off. But the challenger can count on strong support from the "netroots"--left-wing blogs like DailyKos.com and Web sites like MoveOn.org--which bring in money and moral support from around the country. Call him a Kos celeb.
First they ignored us, now they're fighting us. I hope Gandhi is right about what happens next.