David Sirota:
Finally, to those who derided Brian Schweitzer's way of running campaigns in 2004 and labeled him as a fluke, Tester's victory puts that to rest. Schweitzer, as we see, was the sharp tip of the spear, ripping through the thin veneer that Democratic Party insiders have clung to through election loss after election loss after election loss. Schweitzer - and now Tester - are showing those in their state and throughout the nation that the way to really be a political leader is to reject the D.C. insiders who preach caution; ignore the naysayers who seek to turn politics into bland ad campaigns for soap; and embrace an in-your-face politics that tells people you are dead serious about cleaning up our government.
Tonight is a terrible night for Conrad Burns, not only because one of his primary challengers got almost a quarter of GOP votes, but because Democrats now have Jon Tester carrying the flag against him. Burns barely eeked out a victory last time against Schweitzer - then an unknown first-time candidate. Now, severely damaged by his connections to high-profile corruption scandals, Burns is facing a Schweitzer-style populist - but one who is better-known than Schweitzer was during his dark horse Senate bid in 2000. It's Tester Time - and that means Burns' days in the Senate are numbered.
Schweitzer wasn't just the spear for the new, aggressive, revived Montana Democratic Party, but for the national party as well. Watch Democrats (with Schweitzer leading the charge) gain seats in the state legislature despite a hostile map (Tester's state Senate seat was one of the most Republican in the state). Watch Montana Democrats show the rest of the country how it's done.
The early money and support in DC was for Morrison. Just like in Illinois, the early money and institutional support went to millionaire Blair Hull, not Barack Obama. The institution isn't interested in fresh faces. They want their gazillionaires (except in Connecticut), the well-connected, and those coming from well-known political families.
An organic farmer? Pfshaw! But Tester didn't quit despite early fundraising woes. He didn't quit when he was being asked to step aside for the greater good of the party. He didn't quit when he was down in January 45-25 according to Morrison's polling.
Because people-power matters. And that message will reverberate inside the DC political and media elite tonight.
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