A Rebuke to the Parties

Worth Clicking: Blasts from the past wound Romney

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May 19, 2010

A Rebuke to the Parties

Anti-establishment anger remains the political narrative in media coverage of yesterday's primaries which saw Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) lose the Democratic nomination, Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) forced into a runoff and the GOP's preferred choice for Senate in Kentucky crushed by a tea party candidate.

Politico put it best: "For any politician with the usual instincts for self-protection, the lessons of Tuesday's primaries could not be more clear: This could happen to you."

A few more examples:

The Washington Post says Tuesday's results "were the most powerful indicator to date of the voter anger and dissatisfaction that has shaped the political climate all year."

The New York Times says the results "illustrated anew the serious threats both parties face from candidates who are able to portray themselves as outsiders and eager to shake up the system."

Wall Street Journal: "Voters showed they were ready to sever ties with candidates too closely identified with Washington and its political leaders."

USA Today: "A growing wave of discontent with government crashed down on 'establishment' candidates running in primaries Tuesday."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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May 19, 2010