A little special election history is in order

In a presidential election year, a Democrat scores a surprise election victory, taking a seat previously held by a very popular Republican politician in a district President Bush had carried handily four years before.  The chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee calls the result “a clear message to the arrogant Republican government in Washington that Americans are ready for a change (CBS).”

Whether the “arrogant Republican government” gets the message is unclear, but the voters sure don’t.  Nine months after the Democrats “flip” Kentucky’s Sixth District (Republican incumbent Ernie Fletcher resigned to begin his term as Governor), President Bush still carries Kentucky handily, and the nation narrowly, in the Election of 2004.

I just thought I’d mention that amidst the latest “clear message” for the Democrats in Illinois today (Washington Post).