Who Knew?

The kid won. If you scroll down to the post of June 14, you will see a title which I must have subconsciously plagiarized for yesterday's post, "Tip was Right. All Politics Should be Local." That post was about another political party which was very different (if not in spirit, certainly in venue, cuisine, and cocktails,) from the one I attended on Election Night. That party was held in the living room of friends of mine, and it was in honor of the local boy who would dare to make good against some pretty impressive odds. "If he even makes a good showing against her, he will have a bright future," they said. And does he ever! Yesterday the kid from Wethersfield High beat Connecticut's longest serving Congressperson. There was nothing but joy in Wethersfield last night. All of our combined $25 checks helped launch the campaign that may just change the way many people, especially young people, look at party politics. Chris Murphy took on a popular incumbent on the issues, and with both his youth and those issues, he prevailed. And as I said in June, Chris did not arrive from somewhere else to seek national office. He worked his way up through local and state offices in the traditional party system, helped along the way by the traditional party faithful, as well as by his young friends, to become the Mr. Murphy who is going to Washington. (I still can't believe that my 29 year old daughter will have a childhood friend, or at least the big brother of her childhood friend, in Congress. She was overwhelmed by just seeing him on CNN, wait until she hears the election results!) I predict that Chris' story will have the same impact on state politics that Barack Obama's has had on the national scene. We've got our youth back. No baby boomer can help but look longingly at that poster portrait of an achingly young JFK in his shirt sleeves when he was first elected to Congress. We, who so loved politics in our youth, (although not necessarily the traditional party kind,) welcome this next generation to take charge of it. Their values are not ours, but neither are the times, and we know we need them to lead us forward into the future if we would have one. We need political leaders who are young, who have young families and friends, who will care for the America of the future (and take care of our own supernumerous, superannuated demographic?) Back in June, I asked, "Who knows? The kid just might win." I join the party faithful who were assembled in the Greenblatt's living room that summer evening in saying, "Thanks, Chris. You did it. You won one for us, and for the party."