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Monday, March 01, 2010

Halter Hopes to Halt Lincoln

You've probably already heard that Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter has announced he is primarying Blanche Lincoln. Lincoln has been among the very worst corporatist Democrats in the Senate, contributing to the toxic dysfunction there at every turn. On healthcare reform she has been scarcely better than the worst Republicans, frankly. And like Dodd before her, she has become so poisonous in her state that the election of her primary challenger seems an incomparably better bet for Democratic retention of that Senate seat than re-election of Lincoln herself. Unlike Dodd, there is probably little chance she would announce her retirement so that DSCC could put their resources behind Halter instead. Once a scumbag always a scumbag. This may ultimately cripple Halter's chances despite his greater popularity and more populist politics. If so, the best news for Democrats in his challenge may simply be that by pressuring her from the left, Lincoln may be inclined to vote a little bit more like an actual Democrat to the benefit of us all than she otherwise has done. Anyway, Halter seems well worth supporting. A donor groundswell might give him some splashy headlines and, who knows, might pressure Lincoln to do the right thing and vanish from the scene now for the good of the country rather than in November for the good of the gangsters of the GOP. Also, he has a truck.

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