Several progressive sites are quite happy with Paul Hackett's loss in the special OH-2 US House election yesterday, because lost by four points in a district that normally goes Republican by 40-50 points. AMERICAblog says that Hackett lost the battle...

But, boy, did he change the rules of the game. He lost by a 52% - 48% margin.

Clermont County went to Schmidt by a 58 - 42.

If the GOP can't win by a romp in Ohio's Second District, they are in big trouble. And four points in this district is big trouble.

Let's just hope that the Democratic Brain Trust here in DC learned something from this election. You have to play to win. You have to fight to win.

Great job by Paul Hackett...he has started the campaign for 2006 and has given us all great hope.

While all of this is true, I keep thinking this:

A clear plurality of OH-2 voters chose batshit-crazy, lying, ethics-free Republican over any Democrat. If Jesus Christ himself returned and ran as a Democratic candidate, they'd vote Republican.

Just as Markos reminded people in 2004 that progressives have to hold their breath and vote for DINOs like Brad Carson, the GOP's strongholds know that they have to vote for every Republican, no matter how odious. The 30% of voters at either end of the number line will not change their minds - the campaigns are about convincing the middle 40%.

Not pandering to them, not "moving to the middle" to appease them, but convincing them.

Update: Wow - just hours after I wrote that, Markos posted his litmus test for candidates, and the first item is:

Does candidate 'distance himself' from the party and/or its leaders, or is he proud to be a Democrat?

One commenter has already pointed out that Brad Carson failed this very first test, but Markos backed him anyway.

By the way, I love Daily Kos and Markos. He breathes fire because it burns within him for a better, safer, more equal America. I'm user #16 on the current (second) iteration of Daily Kos. I understand why he asked us to vote for Brad Carson, and I know how important Carson's support was to Daily Kos when the 101st Fighting Keyboarders tried to destroy the site.

I don't intend to rub his face in a big pile of Carson. I just think that, in advocating the "50-state strategy," activists need to realize that the work has to start now so there are more campaigns like Paul Hackett's and fewer like Brad Carson's. I still hold out hope that Carson may, someday, have an Al Gore-like ephphany and be a proud progressive instead of a simpering "I'm nearly conservative, don't hurt me" liberal stereotype. Then I'd have fun voting for him.