Great news out of Hawaii. Current Rep. Mazie Hirono defeated her predecessor, Ed Case, for the Senate nod. Why does this matter? It’s pretty significant actually. Hirono is a reasonably progressive, mainstream Democrat. Ed Case is a Blue Dog. And it’s worse even than that. There are Blue Dogs, and there are Blue Dogs. There are some who obviously just belong to the organization to be “serious” about debt issues. Case is one of the ones who seems to be outright antagonistic to the aims of the party, both in terms of substance and symbolism. Wikipedia has a few of the greatest hits?

While Case entered the House of Representatives too late to cast a vote on the Iraq War Resolution, he supported the Iraq War throughout his tenure in the House. As late as 2006, he opposed a firm timetable for withdrawal.

Case often sided with Republicans on major tax legislation. He was one of only 34 Democrats (who sided with 196 Republicans) to support reducing the estate tax. He also was one of 15 Democrats (who sided with 229 Republicans) to support lower taxes on investment income.

In 2005, Case voted for Rep. Jeb Hensarling’s (R-TX) amendment to eliminate funding for PBS, NPR, and Title X family planning. He was unusual in being the only Democrat to support the amendment, which failed 102-320.

Anything else? Yes. He’s a staunch supporter of making the so-called PATRIOT Act permanent. He’s voted to weaken church-state separation in schools. His record is that of a safe Democrat who is nonetheless terrified of being identified as “of the left”, whatever that means at this point, but hasn’t noticed how his party has changed over the past decade. A quick perusal of the record shows that this former two-term Congressman has run in three separate elections since deciding to leave the house, each more dismal than the last. At some point, one has to wonder why he is so convinced that he’s bound for greater things. He clearly doesn’t understand that Democrats don’t actually want someone who is opposed to Title X and cutting the estate tax to represent them, and while a record of moderation is an asset in a general election, a record of outright hostility like this makes him simply a non-starter. One wonders if he’s finally gotten the message, and will finally just give up and enter the lobbying world that he’s so nicely set himself up for.

Case truly is a Lieberdem. And it’s good that he lost. If only his Leonard Shelby-like memory would allow him to remember this before his next run for something…

(For an explanation of the title, click here.)