What you are talking about is just brutal desire:
Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln is casting herself as an “independent voice” in her Democratic primary fight against Lieutenant Gov. Bill Halter, who has the backing of unions and liberal activists frustrated with Lincoln’s moderate positions.
Just this week, Lincoln launched a new television ad taking aim at the “bunch of Washington D.C. unions” running ads accusing her of siding with big business over middle class workers. A union-backed group called “Arkansans For Change” is behind those ads.
“I’m not working for them,” she tells viewers in her response ad. “I work for you.”
One union, the Arkansas AFL-CIO, is now hitting back at Lincoln for that claim, calling her “a hypocritical, flip-flopping D.C. politician.” The group has endorsed Halter.
“It’s easy for her to try to paint opponents as outsiders, but working class voters in Arkansas can see as well as anybody that she has turned her back on us,” Arkansas AFL-CIO President Alan Hughes said in a statement Wednesday.
I’ve been watching Lincoln flail around, and I have to say I just love seeing her adopt the rhetoric of our segregationist past. I’m waiting for her to call everyone supporting Halter “outside agitators.”
But more to the point, the delicate princes and princesses in the Senate have set their rules up so that no Senate election is just a state election anymore. In an era when one redneck luddite in any state can grind the agenda of the nation to a halt with a hold or a filibuster, there are no “outsiders” anymore. Change the Senate rules so that one hick can’t hold 300 million people hostage, and I’ll have some sympathy for you, Blanche.
Until then, suck on this:
It is time for Sen. Lincoln to go, the voters of Arkansas know it, and the only thing up for question is whether she is replaced by a good Democrat or a Republican.
Derelict
Poor Blanche!
She ran soooo hard to the right. And yet, the Republicans STILL run candidates and attacks against her. She just doesn’t understand their hostility!
And now, after voting against her own party and the interests of her constituents time after time after time on issue after issue after issue, well, her own PARTY is running candidates and attack ads against her. She just doesn’t understand their hostility!
Zifnab25
I won’t be surprised if she pulls a Lieberman, goes “Arkansasians for Lincoln”, and runs as an independent if she loses the primary. Although, I suspect she’ll have less momentum given that Lieberman wasn’t polling under 30% in 2006.
Max
Do disrespect meant to the southern BJ’ers, but that fucking accent of Blanche’s is like nails on a chalkboard to me.
Jules
Dear Balloon Juice.
Please except my sincere apologies for voting for Miz Blanche.
I promise I will do better.
KTHX
freelancer
@Jules:
It’s okay, I’m still atoning for Ben Nelson, but what fucking option did I have?
MikeJ
It would surprise me a lot. She’s obviously far from my favorite and I’d love to see her replaced, but I don’t think she’s quite as bad as Holy Joe.
Mike Kay
It’s not too late to Kill the Bill.
Call Congress tonight and tell them to vote no.
jeffreyw
Just get on the streetcar, Blanche.
mr. whipple
@Mike Kay:
You’ve been to FDL one time too many, and have caught the crazie cooties.
Jules
@Mike Kay:
Sure Mike, I’ll get right on that.
CalD
I have admit, I’m pretty tired of Blanche Lincoln myself. But if we end up with a Republican in her seat, I still reserve the right to spend the next six years saying I told you so.
demo woman
@Mike Kay: I might call right after you do… lol
John, no money tonight but I do hope that you put up the actblue sight tomorrow after the vote.
nancydarling
I regularly call or email Lincoln to harangue her about card check, student loans, health care,agricultural issues, etc. Her family farm is a big rice producer in eastern Arkansas and gets major federal subsidies. The Senate leadership gave her the AG committee chairmanship and got nothing in return! She is totally untrustworthy on farm issues just like she is on health and banking. She is always touting her accomplishments in veterans’ affairs. I told her “Who doesn’t want to take care of our veterans and their families? Do the hard stuff!”
I really don’t think Boozman, who will probably be the Republican nominee, can be any worse than she is. I don’t know much about him, but he seems like an amiable doofus who will vote the Republican party line. But then so does Blanche. He does eventually answer emails and letters—with a hand written note no less.
The Democratic party is a totally different animal here in Arkansas than I was accustomed to in California. I go to the Democratic Women’s Club of Carroll County every month and I frequently elicit pearl clutching and jaws on the floor with something I say.
Go Halter! I already donated a hundred bucks through ActBlue when you put it up a couple of weeks ago and I will be giving more and am gearing up to volunteer for him.
Ailuridae
Wasn’t the CT thing largely a fluke and most states won’t allow you to lose a primary and then run as an independent in the same election. I’m 99% sure that’s why Arlen Specter didn’t try that in PA (where he likely would have won a three way race as Republican turned Independent) and I thought the PA model was far more common than the CT model. Anyone?
General Egali Tarian Stuck
@CalD: It’s no use, the pitchforks are out and won’t be denied. We will both be the lonely told you so voices in the BJ wilderness.
Martian Buddy
@mr. whipple: I’m guessing Mike Kay got the same Google ad that I did. (It’s back to the boring old “Brown bailout” one now that I refreshed.)
Fitzwili
This is so great! Please make more ActBlue pages! I like donating under the Balloon Juice category. I made a small donation to this page and the one you set up to primary Connie S. against Bart Stupak. I also gave a small amount to Boccieri for switching from no to yes- I am going to try to reward those who were at risk but made the right decision. That’s the one thing that the last election taught me- that by banding together small individual donations, you can have a bigger impact.
DougJ
I just gave 50 bucks.
The unions are gonna have some scalps come December 2010.
PeakVT
@Ailuridae: Correct. CT is one of 4 states without a sore loser law. The others are IA, NY, and VT.
@CalD: Lincoln (no relation genetic or otherwise to the great Abe) is going to lose anyway, according to the polls, and big.
Kanamit
@CalD: Yeah, no. Lincoln is (and has been for quite some time now) polling lower than any other Democratic incumbent.
nelson
I just gave 100 dollars. I am now watching P Gingrey a republican from Georgia on C span throw a hissy fit and lie his way about how this will be the end of the democrats. I am so tired of old white males telling and regulating ( and I am talking about old white male republicans), the way it should. These guys are out of touch. My dad is 83 and is more of a progressive. Can someone tell me why these small states get so much air time. I do not get it. I have lived in ND, MN, AZ, FL and now CA. I have been around. My son graduated from UC Berk as a ME and he threw out the line, “Mom, don’t you know 20 percent of the population gets 80 percent of the noise. I do not recall what the relationship is, but when a Cal grad says it, I believe it. There is some doctrine involved. Also, I played tennis today, and it is good news for John McCain. I refused to put on sunscreen. Gingrey is still talking about abortion, it must be bad news for Stupak, or maybe Virginia Foxx. I get confused. I am new here.
Ailuridae
@PeakVT:
Sore loser law! I knew there was some neat euphemism for it.
Violet
We need an Act Blue page to thank everyone who votes for the Health Care bill, assuming they actually pass the damn thing. I’ll be phoning to thank my Rep and maybe a few others.
nelson
I am done waiting in moderation, my congressman is Lundgren, and he is worthless. No Cal. He believes since his dad was Reguns physician, he is gold. I do not like him.
Martian Buddy
@nelson: I sympathize. My Rep. is Platts and he likes the taste of the Stupak abortion Kool-aid.
CalD
@PeakVT: @Kanamit:
You might want to have a look at the most recent polling. Whatever she’s been doing, seems to be working.
wmd
Let’s not forget that Halter decided to run because of Hamsher and Greenwald’s Accountability Now PAC.
Oh, and Move On, ActBlue, AFL-CIO… and of course Blanche Lincoln’s execrable voting record.