Where Go the Democrats?

If the polls are to be believed, it appears that Ned Lamont will beat Joe Lieberman in Connecticut's Democratic primary. For an interesting discussion of the impact of that vote on Democratic presidential politics leading up to the 2008 election, see here. One of the potential beneficiaries if Lieberman loses may be Al Gore. One of the losers: Hillary Clinton.

As the author of the piece, Dan Belz, points out, opinions regarding the ultimate impact of all of this varies. To some, it signals that more bold and intransigent opposition to President Bush and to the Iraq War is a winning strategy. To others, it risks the marginalization of the Democratic Party, as activists push it so far to the left on national security issues that it will not be able to win national elections. To this observer, the present political situation looks a lot like the lead up to 1972.