Look West!

Its not just for Andrew Sullivan anymore.
This is the America that Ed Schultz is tapping into
(more successfully than Air America). This is the
America that will give Gay people the rights of
marriage as long as the straight folk get to keep the
word for themselves. This is the America that will
turn its back on James Dobsons thought thugs as long
as the Dems avoid trying to empty their gun racks.
>From The New Republic -
Earlier this year, Republican Conrad Burns, locked in
a tough struggle to defend his Montana Senate seat,
cut a not-terribly-original ad attacking his
Democratic challenger. Jon Tester joins liberal judges
opposing proven anti-terror programs, is against the
Patriot Act, and his position on Iraq is constantly
changing, the script read. But, if Burnss line of
attack--the Democrat as flip-flopping friend of
activist judges with no appetite for fighting
terrorism--was decidedly familiar, the response from
his opponent was anything but. Nearly all of Montanas
legislators, including 51 Republicans, want to replace
the Patriot Act because it lets federal government
agents search our bank accounts, medical records, even
our gun sales--for whatever reason, Testers campaign
countered.
A Democrat outflanking a Republican on gun rights? It
sounds odd. But that was exactly Testers strategy--and
it worked. On Tuesday, Tester narrowly defeated Burns,
meaning that Democrats now control both Senate seats
in Montana, a staunchly conservative state. 
Testers victory, combined with Democratic advances
across the Mountain West this week, signals a major
shift in American politics. Support for Democratic
candidates in the region has surged in the past four
years.
Prior to the 2002 election, Democrats controlled no
governorships in the band of states that stretch along
the spine of the Rockies from Mexico to Canada. But,
by this year, they controlled four; and, on Tuesday,
they added one more. In addition, over the past four
years, Democrats have taken over legislatures in
Colorado and Montana. 
This shift can be partly explained by demographics: An
influx of Latino immigrants, high-tech professionals,
and upscale refugees from both coasts certainly has
boosted Democratic prospects in the region.
But the more important explanation is ideological. The
leave us alone agenda that once worked so well for
Republicans in the Mountain West is now benefiting
Democrats like Tester. Western voters--always wary of
government intrusion--have grown increasingly
distrustful of a GOP identified with deficit spending,
the religious right, and humanitarian intervention
abroad.
Democrats have responded by fielding candidates like
Tester who support gun rights, oppose gay marriage,
and attack the Bush administration for expanding the
reach of government.