Dems are eating their own.

Dems are eating their own.

Much hoopla has been witnessed and ink has been spilled over the Utah primary election that purged Republican Sen. Bob Bennett from seeking a fourth term. (Poor baby, 18 years just wasn’t enough!) However, less in the news has been the civil war in the Democratic Party. Many in that party’s base don’t believe our leftist president has gone far enough, so they are running candidates against many of their sitting representatives as well. This could be an interesting battle in what could be a national war for the heart and soul of the country. This is from Kim Strassel in the Wall Street Journal. 

What do Joe Sestak, Bill Halter and Colleen Hanabusa have in common? The left loves them. This is yet another reason Democrats are in trouble this fall.  Snip –

… (PA Sen. Arlen Specter) has his new party’s full financial backing. Recent polls nonetheless show the liberal Mr. Sestak within striking distance.

Later next week Hawaii holds a special election to replace Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who resigned to run for governor. His district is Democratic, but the liberal Ms. Hanabusa is siphoning support from the party’s preferred candidate, former Rep. Ed Case. Republican Charles Dijou might win.

These races follow primaries in Ohio and North Carolina where the anointed Democrat fought damaging battles against insurgent liberals…In North Carolina, the base’s preferred pick, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, has dragged the more conservative state Sen. Cal Cunningham into a June runoff. Snip –

…Guantanamo is still open, card check is still dead, Nafta is still functioning, and troops remain in Iraq. Meanwhile, the president dangled the public option in front of his liberal supporters, only to further enrage them when he lost that fight. All this has forced Democratic congressmen to take the blame for failures like card check.

… The response has been for unions and grass-roots groups to throw their money and support behind more liberal candidates. Democrats are currently battling as many, if not more, ugly primary challenges than Republicans.

No one exemplifies the dynamic better than (AR Sen. Blanche) Lincoln. Over her 12 years in the Senate, she’s been careful to project herself as a Democrat in tune with Arkansas voters and business. The party leadership’s decision to push card check and the public option (both highly unpopular with the general public and the Arkansas public) forced Mrs. Lincoln to push back, which cast her as the spoiler of liberal dreams.

Mr. Halter was the result, propelled from the start by groups such as MoveOn.org…

Win or lose, the base’s candidates are pulling the Democratic field left. Colorado’s appointed Sen. Michael Bennet was intending to win re-election by keeping his head down, splitting the difference on tough issues.  Then, last September, the grass roots fueled former Colorado House speaker Andrew Romanoff’s entrance into the race, who announced his support for an ObamaCare public option. Not to be outdone in a closed Democratic primary, Mr. Bennet became the Senate’s most vocal public-option supporter.

Unfortunately for both men, the winner will now be on record supporting a position few in Colorado’s general electorate share…

… While some Republican primaries are proving bloody, most are turning out candidates largely in tune with today’s public frustration with Washington.

The Democratic primaries, by contrast, are generating nominees who are embracing, or even going beyond, the president’s unpopular agenda. This is the feud that may have the bigger consequences for this fall’s midterms.

Stay tuned, this could get interesting. Let’s hope the Democrats continue to eat their own. We Americans who still believe in capitalism, individual responsibility and liberty need all the help we can get this fall. Let’s hope the Left continues to show their true colors so that there is no longer any doubt who and what they are. Read it all here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704635204575242292247966322.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_BelowLEFTSecond

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