Judging from all the tut-tutting we've heard from the Beltway Brainiacs over Ned Lamont's challenge of Lord Lieberman, you'd think that Tuesday's primary in Connecticut marked the first time an incumbent member of Congress faced a contest in his own party's primary.
Not so fast.
Moderate Republicans (now there's an endangered species) often face primary contests from right-wingers who turn out in force and thus have disproportionate influence over their party.
Case in point: Michigan's 7th District.
MI-7 was represented for years by Nick Smith, who
made national news in late 2003 when he accused backers of the Medicare "reform" bill of trying to bribe him into voting "yes."
Smith retired in 2004, and there was a six-way primary. Schwarz, a long-time state senator, won with 28 percent of the vote.
The Right wants the seat back, and their man is Tim Walberg, who distinguished himself by compiling one of the most right-wing voting records in Michigan's right-wing-controlled legislature.
Walberg is backed by the Club for Growth, which has not only challenged incumbent Republicans but has kept others in line with the threat of a challenge. The Club is headed by Pat Toomey, a former Pennsylvania congressman who narrowly lost to Arlen Specter in the 2004 Senate primary.
The Club has money to burn on primary challenges. According to the Associated Press:
Schwarz's seat has been put in the crosshairs by the conservative Club for Growth, which has spent more than $400,000 in independent expenditures while directing donors to support Walberg, who has received most of his $600,000 in funding from outside the district.
Toomey had this to say to critics who accuse him and the Club of wasting resources on primary races:
"The more races in which we're able to help good, pro-growth, limited government candidates win, the better the chances Republicans have of holding the House, which I think is a dicey proposition right now. We're the voice out there saying 'Hey guys, the Republican Party's got to stand for something.'"
Let me get this straight. When the Right takes on an inucmbent, it gets a free pass. When we do it, the Brainiacs shriek and rend their garments.
One more thing: the Brainiacs ought to take a good look at Walberg and his supporters.
Walberg brags that during 16 years in the Michigan legislature:
"[I] never voted for a tax increase, compiled a 100 percent pro-life voting record, and earned a lifetime rating of A-plus from the National Rifle Association."
And, according to the AP:
Walberg has received endorsements from conservatives such as James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, and the Michigan Right to Life and had some members of the Minuteman organization, which patrols the border against illegal immigrants, in the district on his behalf.
What was that about Lamont supporters being jihadists, hippies, and terrorists?