Last night I was in a bar in New Haven with a bunch of Lamont supporters, including the brilliant Squirrel Nut Zippers.  Here's a clip from last night's rally to get the GOTV troops motivated of 'Had Enough'.  I first listened to the Squirrel Nut Zippers in college, and I'm impressed with their ability to put their talent to use for progressives all over the country with their song 'Had Enough'.  We don't use our cultural advantages efficiently at all, but it looks to me like these folks (and Howie Klein) are showing the way.

But that's not the point of this post.  For some reason, there was a lot of bagpiping in my day yesterday.  Like, a lot.  It started in Paramus, NJ, at an IBEW union hall, where a rally for Bob Menendez and Paul Arohnson started with bagpipers.  

And it ended at Sullivan's in New Haven, where the policeman's fraternity was out in force drinking in kilts, with a bagpiper along with the ride.  This policeman's fraternity is very conservative, naturally authoritarian.  One guy saw a Lamont sign that we had brought in, and held it in the air with one hand and smashed it to bits with a billy club in the other.  It was creepy and funny, lots of drunk cops who clearly hate liberals, but who were also out just having a good time.

Anyway, at a certain point I went to the bar and ordered a drink, and I overheard a conversation that I think is very telling.  Three people were basically bitching about the Republicans and the deficit, saying that the problem is that there are no checks and balances on the system.  While none of them thought Clinton was a 'good person', they did think that the Republicans have blown it, big time.  One line was 'Yeah Democrats have to raise taxes, but what else are you going to do when you have such a huge deficit?'  

The electorate is in an interesting, though expected, place.  Large constituency blocks who don't hate Bush still want a check on his ability to do whatever he wants.  Even the urban conservatives - the George Wallace voters so critical to the Nixonian realignment we are living through - see the problems in the system and are willing to vote for Democrats.  I wouldn't chalk that up to some great love of Democrats, but there is a basic desire among all but the most wingnuttish out there to have balance in the system.  

If the Republicans win, which I don't think they will, but if they do, it will be because they are able to throw enough static into the system to confuse voters, and we don't have enough organized social networks (like unions or churches) to contextualize what's hpapening.  All right-wingers are running on the bipartisan mantle now, saying that they are independent voices who work hard regardless of the President.  Aside from more rumors of ridiculous amounts of street money, Lieberman is doing well because he's convinced a substantial portion of the electorate and the press that he will be a check on Bush.  He doesn't have an (R) next to his name, and in this environment, that's an enormous advantage.