So the state of California recently switched to a top-two primary system, in which all candidates compete in a crowded primary field and the top two proceed to the general election. Theoretically, this ought to generate more moderate congresspeople and keep entrenched politicians honest. So far, I’ve been underwhelmed. Mostly it’s just caused confusion, and fractured primary fields have let most incumbents skate through so far. Not too many intraparty skirmishes of much interest to date, and it’s caused Democrats to give up one winnable seat prior to November because a Dem finished just behind the second Republican in the race. But the big exception to all this is the Sherman-Berman contest down in L.A., in which two senior Democrats advanced to the general election. They have pretty similar political profiles–experienced center-left-but-emphasize-the-center older Jewish guys, basically–and since I don’t live in the City of Angels I had only been vaguely aware of the state of the race (ugly, close). Well, now we know just how bad things must be going for Berman to accept this particular endorsement:

Three high-profile senators, Republicans Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and independent Joe Lieberman, endorsed Democratic Rep. Howard Berman Monday in his intra-party race against Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman. [...]

“Time and again, Howard has been my partner in confronting the toughest foreign policy issues facing our country,” Lieberman said in a press release.

I can’t think of any other figures more widely loathed by Democrats than these three clowns–ones who would actually be inclined to ever endorse a Democrat, as for example it’s impossible to imagine Mrs. Palin wading into this one. Sure, this endorsement demonstrates “bipartisanship,” but Lieberman and McCain are despised figures among the Democratic base, for obvious reasons (Iraq and, again, Palin). Graham is not much better–I think there’s less of an emotional component there, but between the warmongering, the climate-change double-cross and others, he’s not exactly a fave of progressives across the nation. So why this announcement?

It seems clear to me that this is definitely a “play” on the part of Berman, who hasn’t repudiated the endorsements. Whatever Republicans live in his district (and there aren’t many) might or might not be motivated by this to turn out for Berman, considering that Obama’s going to carry the state by 20 points again, Sen. Feinstein is running again (which means not even an outside chance of a Republican challenge), and there’s no Republican on the House ballot. It makes sense that far, I suppose. But I really wonder if it’s worth it to be labeled as the choice of the Man Who Picked Palin and, also, Joe Lieberman. For a close election where neither candidate has been able to break away, this play probably has far more risk than reward to Berman–getting some percentage of Republicans who actually like these guys (hardly a unanimous opinion there) to turn out, versus giving your opponent a weapon to turn the base against you. In this district, it’s mostly all base. It hands Sherman a pretty easy frame for his opponent–who apparently solicited and announced the endorsements–by tying him to some pretty unpopular people. Berman seems to be out of touch here, acting as though a McCain/Lieberman endorsement is some kind of asset in a deep-blue district. That might be the case in Washington, but I bet he’ll regret it the day after election day.

I now know who I support in this race: Brad Sherman, because the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Here’s an ActBlue link for Sherman, if you’re so inclined. Each one of these endorsements that backfires brings us closer to the end of our hyperinterventionist foreign policy days. So, pass along the word, I guess.