The Progressive Movement Comes Full Circle: Lamont Endorses Obama

My very first post on this site was in support of Ned Lamont about a year and a half ago, and it's very fitting to see him endorsing Barack Obama whose campaign resembles his own in many ways. Read more...

Lamont staged a primary challenge against Joe Lieberman, the former vice-presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, and someone who had represented Connecticut in the U.S. Senate for some 18 years (3 terms). During this time Lieberman had gradually drifted to the right on a number of issues, but it was his staunch support of the war and the rest of the Bush foreign policy agenda that angered a lot of Connecticut's progressives. The pundits viewed the relatively unknown Lamont's challenge as laughable, and the polls showed him drawing no more than 20% of the vote in a two-way race. But something happened that no one would have expected. Progressives from around the country caught wind of the campaign and decided that it wasn't good enough to just be a Democrat in name and they (I should say we!) started a massive effort to get the word out about Lamont, while simultaneously pouring millions of dollars in small donations into his campaign. Again, the Washington establishment considered the challenge a waste of money, and there were several articles about their displeasure with progressives and the netroots in general. Afterall, incumbent Senators--much less former VP candidates--never lose in primaries. Sure enough, they were proven wrong and Lamont edged out Lieberman, officially forcing him and his Republican stances out of the party. Lieberman eventually ran as an independent, and with the support of the Republican establishment (oh, the irony!) he ended up beating Lamont in the general election. But Lamont's campaign stands as one the first major accomplishment of the progressive movement. It was a campaign that not only defied all the odds but one which gained an incredibly important symbolic victory by officially denying Lieberman the right to call himself a Democrat.

Today, Obama faces a similar battle. While his experience (over a decade just as a legislator) in politics is nothing to be compared to Lamont's limited background, he's up against the same kind of establishment forces. Just a little over a month ago no one thought that he had any chance of beating Hillary, but the donations kept rolling in, his message started gaining traction and his support began to rise. With the public having seen his extraordinary intelligence and oratory skills, he now polls significantly better than any other Democrat when matched against Republican opponents. For him to take the nomination would be the culmination of what Lamont's campaign started: the democratization of the Democratic Party and the beginning of the progressive movement. There will always be cynics folks. It's up to us to prove them wrong.

Click here to Read Lamont's Letter in Support of Obama

And Vote Obama 2008!