How the Mighty Have Fallen

Life can take some pretty weird turns in pretty short order. Just look at two of the heroes of the 2000 Presidential campaign: Joe Lieberman and Katherine Harris.

Last night Lieberman, the 2000 Dem Vice Presidential nominee, was considered unworthy to carry the Dem flag into the November general election for his current Senate seat, a seat he has held for 18 years. Instead, he was unceremoniously tossed aside by the party he represented on the top ticket just six years before. Now he'll run as an independent, and when sworn in next January (I'm pretty sure he'll win), will reduce the number of official Democrats in the Senate. He may caucus with them, but he won't be one of them. (Depending on how they treat him in the general election, he may even reconsider caucusing with them.) Lieberman, who was the ultimate Democrat in 2000 is now a pariah among the nutroots crowd that increasingly controls the party.

One of the 2000 heroes on the GOP side was then Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris who endured every kind of insult you can imagine while stubbornly insisting on following the law and doing her job. She was vilified in the press, even to the point of having style critics slam her for her makeup and wardrobe. Harris emerged from the 2000 election as a powerful political force.

When a House seat in her district opened up she ran and won easily. She could have had a long career in the House, and perhaps bided her time a bit before attempting higher office, but instead chose to make an ill-advised run for the Senate this year. The party was so angry about her decision to run (and ignore other key Republicans like governor Jeb Bush who advised her not to run) that they've pulled all support for her campaign.

Unlike Lieberman, who will probably rise to fight yet again, Harris is probably toast as a political candidate.

Funny how things change.