A cross post from Philly Future yesterday….

Chris touched on something big in his post on today’s primary in Connecticut – today will be a test of how well the web works to shorten the distance between someone who is selling something, in this case a politician, and consumers/participants, in this case voters. The Ned Lamont campaign’s use of viral marketing (Internet campaigning), while suffering some faults and trip-ups as any political campaign does, should be looked at as a case study in how to connect people to causes they care about and generating buzz.

Last year I had no idea who Ned Lamont was. And if it wasn’t for the web – I doubt few in Philadelphia would be so concerned, let alone the entire country. But here we are. Think about it.

So let the talk of partisanship and division wash over you for a second. Partisanship and division in politics and within political parties isn’t all that new is it?

What *is* new (well at least was long missing) and is very, very heartening, is the infectious enthusiasm and growth of a politically aware and involved public.

That has to be celebrated. No matter the outcome.

In a similar vein, go read Richard Cranium at The All Spin Zone: “In Connecticut – America Wins”.

And um… go Ned Lamont!

… and Lamont wins!

A note from Shelley:

Lieberman stood for something once upon a time. Whatever it was he stood for, though, was lost in the 9/11 attacks. He lost his perspective, and now he�s lost the race. Running as an independent, as he has threatened, just shows that he�s about to lose the one thing left: his dignity.

On the other hand, the �people� weren�t entirely the winners, as has been proclaimed. The Lieberman challenger, Lamont, may have made effective use of the grassroots to run his compaign, but he also made a great deal of use of his personal wealth. He wasn�t exactly one of the little people.

Still, hopefully this will shake up the Dems enough to force the party into something other than Republican Light.